Seahawks waive Portis after DUI arrest

Quarterback Josh Portis was waived by Seattle after it was learned that he was arrested for driving under the influence May 5.

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RENTON, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks have waived backup quarterback Josh Portis a day after news surfaced of his arrest for driving under the influence earlier this month.

The Seahawks announced the decision to cut Portis Tuesday morning. Portis was on the field and an active participant during the Seahawks’ first OTA workout Monday.

Portis, who spent two seasons as the starting quarterback at California University, was arrested on investigation of driving under the influence May 5 and faces a court arraignment next week. Portis was pulled over for driving 80 mph in a 60 mph zone on Interstate 90. The arresting officer wrote Portis performed poorly in field sobriety tests and later registered 0.092 and 0.078 percent for blood-alcohol content in breath tests. The legal limit in Washington state is 0.08 percent.

Portis was in his second stint with the Seahawks. He was re-signed by Seattle in early April after they traded Matt Flynn to Oakland.

A story on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website had the following account of the stop:

Portis said he hadn’t been drinking, but the trooper asked him to step out of the car. A person in the passenger’s seat “stated Portis was a Seahawk player, and he did not have to get out of the car,” the trooper wrote in the incident report.

After the trooper’s third request, Portis stepped out of the car and agreed to a field sobriety test but not to a breath test. Portis allegedly said he did not have anything to drink and was on his way home from Seattle.

“Portis asked me if I knew who he was and I stated yes,” the trooper wrote in the report. “(The passenger) exited the vehicle and began to cry. (The passenger) stated I was arresting a Seahawk, and I was going to ruin him. … (The passenger) shouted at me and stated she couldn’t believe that I was from Seattle, and was arresting a Seahawk.”

After being taken to State Patrol headquarters, the quarterback allegedly admitted to drinking tequila at a Cinco de Mayo event at Alki Beach in Seattle. “I asked Portis why he lied to me at the roadside about his alcohol consumption and he stated he was nervous,” the trooper wrote.

While at Cal, Portis accepted an offer by prosecutors to be admitted into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for his part in the use of stolen credit cards.

Portis was charged with theft, receiving stolen property, forgery and access device fraud for using a stolen credit card at Century III Mall in West Mifflin.

Portis received the credit card, reported stolen in a Sept. 27 robbery in McKeesport, from another person and used it to purchase items.